Questo e Quello
On this day in 1903 tenor Enrico Caruso made his Metropolitan Opera debut as the Duke of Mantua.
“Trove Thursday” marks St. Cecilia’s Day with two works by Henry Purcell, the composer who often celebrated music’s patron saint.
Only the Sound Remains introduced Americans to the latest collaboration between dazzling Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho and hirsute metteur-en-scène Peter Sellars.
Happy Thanksgiving USA Parterrians!
French conductor Emmanuelle Haïm debuted with the Philadelphia Orchestra this weekend, leading performances of Handel and Purcell.
Sunday’s sold out Carnegie Hall recital became a veritable love-fest between the Peruvian tenor and those assembled in the Hall.
Washington Concert Opera on the occasion of Gounod’s 200th birthday presented the American premiere of his first opera, Sapho.
On this day in 1967 Herbert von Karajan first appeared at the Metropolitan Opera conducting and directing Die Walküre.
A report from a parterrian audience member indicates that Mariusz Kwiecien canceled Les Pêcheurs de Perles after the first part yet again at the Met tonight.
Patrice Chéreau‘s Elektra brims with ideas beyond its eschewing of the opera’s standard, hysterical trappings.
On this day in 1907 bass Fyodor Chaliapin made his Met debut in Boito’s Mefistofele.
Alexander Birch Elliott‘ s dynamic if gauche Zurga added some pizzazz to an otherwise bland evening.
If sheer clarion vocalism is what draws you to the opera, then hie thee to Lyric Opera of Chicago’s rousing revival Of Verdi’s Il Trovatore, the oddly plotted but musically sublime opera that opened last night in the David McVicar production, originally seen in 2006.
Saturday night I navigated the Music Center concourse, or what’s left of it with it’s seemingly eternal construction to the main plaza, wending my way to the Dorothy Chandler for the opening night of LA Opera’s Hansel and Gretel.
Christopher Maltman created a fun, coherent, often whimsical journey exploring the animal kingdom through a selection of animal songs.
The Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho is surely the reason that Covent Garden has made a commercial release of this “Live to Cinemas” relay from March of 2017.
On this day in 1962 soprano Régine Crespin made her Metropolitan Opera debut as the Marschallin.
On this day in 1974 tenor Jose Carreras made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Cavardossi.
The Ring continues from Covent Garden with Siegfried starring Stefan Vinke.
“The heavens are telling” begins the famous chorus that ends the first section of The Creation.
An image of the old, ruined Coventry Cathedral goes into closer and closer focus until the stage is dominated by a grassy stone.
On this day in 1975 soprano Roberta Peters celebrated the 25th anniversary of her Met debut with a performance of Così fan tute.
Curtis Opera ventured Sweeney Todd.
This was not a performance as gimmick.
Tell us: What was the best of 2025?
Parterre Box concludes the thrilling first year of Talk of the Town by inviting your lightning rod opinions on several more categories of operatic argumentation.
